BHUBANESWAR: Veteran actor-director Amol Palekar on Saturday came in support of students raising their voice against authorities on issues that are not acceptable to them.
"I am extremely happy that the younger generation is expressing its counter voice in a very strong and definite way. They are saying that if they do not agree with the powers that be, they are not going to keep quiet and take it lying down. They are going to express their disagreement,” Palekar told reporters.
Palekar was here to perform in Hindi play Kusur (The Mistake). He is making a comeback to theatre after 25 years through the play, written and co-directed by Sandhya Gokhale.
Speaking on the recent violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University, Palekar, known for his voice of dissent, said younger generation raising voice against the people in power is one of the biggest strengths of democracy. "Indian youth have always taken a stand. I look at it as very encouraging with the youth making it clear that they cannot be taken for granted and they will protest if something is not acceptable," he said.
Gokhale echoed similar sentiments and was all praise for Deepika Padukone for standing with the protesting students of JNU. "Very few have the courage to speak up. Being a mainstream actress, whose film was to be released, she is doing an excellent job," Gokhale said.
Palekar batted for content-driven regional cinema and said a number of films being made at regional level need to be promoted. There are a number of good films in Assamese and Marathi. In fact, the regional films have contributed immensely to make Indian cinema prosper. Shockingly, nobody discusses regional cinema anymore, he rued.
Recalling his days in Bhubaneswar during the shooting of ‘Daayaraa’, which was completely shot in Odisha in 1996, he said there are several filmmakers from Odisha who had taken Odia cinema to National level. "Instead of only focusing on Bollywood, we need to discuss why such cinema are not being made. The architectural marvels in the State are mesmerising. I will love to do something about Odisha, if given an opportunity," the award-winning actor said.
Theatre, he said, has not lost its relevance in the age of social media. Despite all the advances and technological progresses, the magic of watching an actor performing live will always remain and nothing can replace that. Theatre has its own charm and attraction, Palekar added.